Devolution's Unfinished Business

Abstract

Devolution was a response to a decline in legitimacy in the territorial politics of the UK. To differing extents and in different ways, there was a legitimacy gap in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. This has largely been restored in the non‐English parts of the UK but has created new problems of legitimacy in England. The West Lothian Question and territorial finance are the unfinished business of devolution. Using Beetham's classic work on The Legitimation of Power, this article argues that the situation today in England resembles that which existed before devolution in the non‐English parts of the UK: there is nothing illegal in the current constitutional arrangements; but there are constitutional anomalies and inconsistencies, which may lead to a withdrawal of consent.